A Highly Selective Novel Green Cation Exchange Membrane Doped with Ceramic Nanotubes Material for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Abstract

Herein, a pair of inexpensive and eco-friendly polymers were blended and formulated based on poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA). FTIR, XRD, EDX and TEM techniques were used to describe a Phosphated titanium oxide (PO4TiO2) nanotube synthesised using a straightforward impregnation-calcination procedure. For the first time, the produced nanoparticles were inserted as a doping agent into this polymeric matrix at a concentration of (1–3) wt.%. FTIR, TGA, DSC and XRD were used to identify the formed composite membranes. Furthermore, because there are more hydrogen bonds generated between the polymer’s functional groups and oxygen functional groups PO4TiO2, oxidative stability and tensile strength are improved with increasing doping addition and obtain better results than Nafion117. The permeability of methanol reduced as the weight % of PO4TiO2 increased. In addition, the ionic conductivity of the membrane with 3 wt.% PO4-TiO2 is raised to (28 mS cm−1). The optimised membrane (PVA/PEO/PO4TiO2-3) had a higher selectivity (6.66 × 105 S cm−3 s) than Nafion117 (0.24 × 105 S cm−3 s) and can be used as a proton exchange membrane in the development of green and low-cost DMFCs.

Effect of TiO2 and Al2O3 Addition on the Performance of Chitosan/Phosphotungstic Composite Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

“…It is documented in the literature that water retention properties strongly depend on the surface properties of inorganic filler particles [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], considering that the strength of water adsorption on the particles is related to the charge of surface functional groups and to the particle surface area. Surface charge can be directly correlated to isoelectric point or zero charge pH, pH pzc , of the inorganic filler particles [ 38 ].…”

Electrocatalytic Performance of MnMoO4-rGO Nano-Electrocatalyst for Methanol and Ethanol Oxidation

“…Alcoholic fuel cells have received a lot of attention in the world of science and technology due to their extraordinary advantages, such as high energy density [ 1 ], relatively small dimensions [ 2 ], easy transportation, environmental compatibility, etc. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. These devices produce electricity directly in an electrochemical reaction [ 6 ].…”

Design of Promising Green Cation-Exchange-Membranes-Based Sulfonated PVA and Doped with Nano Sulfated Zirconia for Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

“…Recently, fuel cells (FCs) have been considered as sustainable energy sources, making them an attractive and alternative category to finite reserves [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. They can directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]…”